Injuries force Brennan Ward, Javier Torres out of Bellator 185

A week after losing its co-main event, the Oct. 20 show has now lost the bout that was moved up to take its place. Welterweight Brennan Ward has withdrawn from Friday’s card due to an injury, and his fight with David Rickels has been canceled, officials confirmed to MMA Fighting.

The news was first reported by MMAjunkie.

In another change, Neiman Gracie (6-0) will now fight Bellator newcomer Zak Bucia (18-8) after originally scheduled opponent Javier Torres suffered an injury. That bout has been positioned as the new co-main event.

The original co-headliner was supposed to feature Liam McGeary fighting Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. An injury forced Lawal out of the fight, and he was replaced by Bubba McDaniel, only for McGeary to then bow out with an injury, which led to the encounter being canceled altogether.

A lightweight bout between Ryan Quinn (13-7-1) and Marcus Surin (4-0) has been promoted to the main card.

Bellator 185 takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Friday. In the main event, Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2) makes his promotional debut against former middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko (56-9).